Chapter 9
CHAPTER NINE
Alistair was considering a contract working at another assembly line, which was mindless and loud enough to drown out his thoughts on the telepath staying a few doors down from him, versus data entry, which could be just as mindless, but not as physically demanding.
He didn’t really care what job he took as long as it got him out of his head.
It felt odd to be so focused on the man, and he wanted a chance to clear his head.
But before he could decide, Morana’s assistant came over to his desk to tell him Morana wanted to see him.
Assuming it was more about the last company he’d temped at, he sighed and got to his feet.
Rehashing it again wasn’t going to do anything other than drag up the irritation he’d felt the week prior.
He’d gone the whole weekend without the burning pain from the magic blockers and didn’t want to ruin that streak thinking about the asshole foreman who didn’t belong in a leadership position.
Morana was waiting for him when he stepped inside, her smile kind. It made him think maybe he was off base about what this meeting was about.
“You asked to see me?”
“I did,” she agreed, gesturing to the chair across from her. “I’ve got a contract request that I’m hoping you’ll take for me.”
Huh. Since he started, all the contracts had gone through the system. Anyone could pick what they wanted, as long as they were qualified, and it went through Morana for approval before being sent back to the temp. He’d never had her request something directly from him.
“What kind of contract?”
“Someone at Spellbound needs an assistant. I’ve got a liaison over there right now, but all his workers are tied up in other jobs, and they want someone they can trust. Since you and Isaac are related, I figured you would be a good fit. What do you say?”
It wouldn’t be a mindless job like he’d been hoping for, but he wouldn’t mind working close to his brother.
Isaac sang praises about Spellbound since the day he started.
And it would give Alistair a chance to consider if working in an office was something he’d enjoy.
Isaac had been continually reminding him to use his contracts as a way to dip his toe into new fields.
“Sure. When do I start?”
“Today,” she beamed. “I’ll handle the paperwork and send it through to Kian.
He’ll be your boss while you’re there. Any issues you might have, you bring them to him first. He’s responsible for the temps at Spellbound while there are so many in residence.
Of course, you can always call me if you feel like it’s important.
” She handed him a piece of paper with the job information written in her neat handwriting.
“Normally, this would be in the system and printed out, but Avery just called a half hour ago, so I haven’t had the time.
I’ll fax Kian the official document for you to sign when it's finished.”
He took the piece of paper, scanning it, and paused when he saw who he’d be working for.
Elijah Washburne.
He almost laughed. Either it was a hell of a coincidence, or one of his new housemates was pulling strings. Was it wrong that he hoped it was the latter? That maybe the curious man he’d been thinking about wanted to see him too?
“Understood. I’ll head over there now.”
“Thank you, Alistair. I appreciate it.”
He headed out, putting his phone to his ear as he left the building. It rang once before Isaac answered, his tone curious. “Al? What’s up?”
“Just wanted to ask if you’ll be available for lunch.”
“Uh… I mean, sure, but I’ll have to take a long one to be able to meet up with you.”
“Don’t worry about it. I’ll come to you.”
From the confusion in his voice, his brother had nothing to do with his current contract.
Which made this more interesting. He hadn’t expected Isaac to request him, but the confirmation made him a little more hopeful that his original assumption was correct.
The question was, what was he going to do about it?
As he slid into the car, he considered his options.
He hadn’t given much thought to dating or relationships.
He’d put marriage off as long as he possibly could before his grandmother insisted.
His marriage to his ex was arranged by their families, and while Edwina wasn’t a bad person, she wasn’t someone he would have chosen for himself.
She was too image conscious. He’d overheard her a few times bragging to her friends about the connections their marriage brought, while never mentioning a connection between them.
Neither of them were particularly interested in forming a bond.
They slept together to create their kids, and that was it.
With everything going on in his life, now felt like a bad time to start a relationship.
He was trying to get his life back on track so he would be allowed to see his kids without his in-laws hovering or interfering.
But the way he felt around Elijah intrigued him.
He thought he’d be anxious, or worse, being around a telepath would trigger flashbacks.
Instead, he felt relaxed in a way he hadn’t experienced since before his time in the military.
Elijah was easy to talk to and the way he floundered and spluttered whenever someone teased him amused Alistair to no end.
Would it hurt to get to know him a little better?
Before the incident that led to his issues, he wasn’t the type of person to weigh the pros and cons.
He was cocky and self-assured, and in the military, that kind of attitude got him promotions, as long as he wasn’t a complete ass about it.
He trusted his gut and jumped in feet first. It worked for him. Until it didn’t.
He shoved away the memory with a scowl. He didn’t want to think about that.
He’d rather think about the adorable red-head who stared at him slack-jawed most of the time.
He wanted to figure out why the man seemed so shocked by their interactions and why he couldn’t stop thinking about him, even when he was supposed to be thinking about work.
Or driving.
He slammed on the brakes, narrowly avoiding a centaur in the crosswalk who shot him a dirty look as he passed.
Alistair gave him an apologetic wave, which seemed to appease him, and Alistair vowed to pay more attention at least while he was behind the wheel.
He could think more about Elijah once he arrived at Spellbound and started working with the man.
Elijah whimpered at the state of his office. Granted, it was never as tidy as most of his coworkers’, but he’d had a system. Now, he’d be lucky if he could find his monitor amongst the stacks of files.
Someone, Elijah was guessing Taron given the man’s inability to think through the consequences of his actions, had the interns bring Elijah the files for every person in the medical innovations division in preparation for the loyalty interviews.
Every. Single. One. There were files for people who didn’t work with the company anymore, files for those who had left with Aristeos that hadn’t been pulled yet, and probably more that Elijah couldn’t even guess what their uses were.
He generously assumed a third of those files brought to him were the ones he needed.
But the interns were there and gone while he was at lunch.
Was there a fae working on the staff in that division?
That was the only possible explanation on how they managed this all during his lunch break.
There wasn’t even a place for him to sit, much less any guests who came to see him.
There were piles on his desk, in his chair, on the chairs opposite his, and even on the couch he had brought in so he could eat his lunch without making people uncomfortable when Brennus was in a meeting and couldn’t join him.
“Woah,” a familiar voice said behind him.
Elijah grimaced at Isaac. “I didn’t–”
His voice cut out as Alistair came to stand behind his brother. What was he doing here? He didn’t need to pick Elijah up until the work day was done.
Elijah felt his cheeks burn as Alistair’s gaze swept over his office. He might not be the neatest person in existence but even he wasn’t this bad. It was humiliating to imagine Alistair might think he was.
“It doesn’t normally look this bad!” he blurted, which only brought Alistair’s attention back to him. He shrank automatically. He was acting foolish in front of the handsome man.
“What are all these?” Isaac asked, forcing Elijah to drag his gaze away from Alistair.
“Personnel files, from the looks of it,” he murmured.
Isaac came to stand next to him, flipping through the file on top of the pile closest to him. His brows furrowed. “This person is retired. Why was this brought up here?”
“I’m assuming whoever was told to bring me the files for the medical innovations division wasn’t told exactly what I needed.” And didn't want to risk having to speak with him to ask. The thought was disheartening, but he didn't have time to wallow about it. “Alistair? Why are you here?”
Isaac waved at his brother over his shoulder, flipping open another file. “He’s your assistant. Just in time, apparently. Seriously, how are you going to find anything in here?”
Elijah didn’t answer. He couldn’t. He was too stuck on the fact that out of everyone who worked at Charmed Away, Alistair was the one chosen as his assistant.
Did he request the position, or was fate trying to make a statement?
His heart skipped at the thought. Fate couldn’t possibly be pointing him toward a potential mate. Right?
Isaac made an irritated sound, snapping Elijah out of his thoughts. “I’m glad Avery suggested getting you help. I wouldn’t be able to leave you drowning in all this if I didn’t know you had help. Seriously, some of those piles are so tall, they look close to toppling over. You could get hurt.”
Not to mention the potential for a fire risk. There were piles of paper too close to outlets in a few places.
Brennus chose that moment to join them and squawked in surprise at the state of Elijah’s office. “Elijah, what in the world? What is all this?”
Elijah sighed. This was going to be a bigger project than he’d expected.